He has, arguably, one of the toughest jobs in local government, leading Wales’ largest authority through the serious financial challenges ahead.

Cardiff council leader Phil Bale won the leadership contest when his predecessor Heather Joyce announced in February she was to resign as leader. Her husband had been unwell for some time.

Now, 100 days in, he admits it is a big job to take on and that it has not been all plain sailing so far. However, he calls it an honour to be representing the city he grew up in.

When he’s not being asked if he’s related to footballer Gareth Bale, he says most people have been telling him how they wouldn’t want his job.

The council leader says: “I have taken on the leadership at a very challenging time. Lots of people have said they wouldn’t want my job, but I see it as a real opportunity to shape the council in a positive way.

“It’s a difficult time. I’m aware some of the services are not good enough. I’m absolutely determined to raise the performance of services that aren’t doing as well and at the same time recognise the things we are doing well.”

Councillor Bale says: “One person said it was a breath of fresh air. That’s been quite interesting. When I came in, there had been a particular way of doing things in the organisation and we need to move on in how we can turn the council into an enabling organisation – how people can interact with the council and city and make communities empowered to do things.”

The selection and appointment of his cabinet hit the headlines when four members of Coun Joyce’s cabinet returned to the backbenches.

There was also criticism at the time from a Labour group colleague about his selection process and lack of female cabinet members.

Asked if tensions had settled down within the Labour group, Coun Bale says: “It’s politics. There will always be disagreement in politics and there are difficult decisions ahead but I’m confident that we’re on the right path.”

He says his first day in the job was “pretty difficult,” with the arrival of the letter from Estyn at the end of March. The watchdog said school services in Cardiff required “significant improvement” and said the council had not made enough progress in the three years since its last major inspection.

Coun Bale says: “There are parts of the council that need improvement. On day one I had to deal with the letter from Estyn. An action plan has now been agreed by Estyn and we intend to drive that impressive agenda forward. That’s another priority.

“It’s early days. Obviously we’ve got to deliver on some of these agreed actions. We’ve got an education board, got support with the Welsh Government’s Schools Challenge Cymru programme and there are other initiatives in the pipeline. We’re working very hard to make sure it gets that attention.”

Referring to the highlights of his 100 days in charge, he speaks about the Capital Square regeneration scheme and BBC Wales’ decision to locate its headquarters there.

Coun Bale says the city’s bus station remains a “key priority” for the administration, with an outline of the next steps for the bus station expected to be revealed soon. He says: “There’s a real buzz about the economic potential of the city to drive growth, in the city, in the region and across Wales.”

He referred to the announcement by American cyber security firm Alert Logic in April that it would open its European headquarters in Cardiff, creating 122 jobs here over the next three years – something the council leader says sends a positive message back to the US about the city.

The first 100 days has also seen the recent passing of the proposed Cardiff Local Development Plan through the council. It will now be considered by the Welsh Government.

Setting out the sites for development across the city, the LDP will see 41,000 homes built by 2016. Almost 24,000 of those are built, in the pipeline already or have planning permission.

Labour has hailed the milestone a success but the opposition believes fundamental questions around transport and infrastructure remain.

Coun Bale said: “We have been able to make real progress for the city, which is really important because, as the economy picks up, I think there will be long-lasting benefits for having spent so much time on getting a plan and consulting on it. The challenge now is to translate what is a policy document into creating world-class communities.”

The leader and his new cabinet have had to get to grips with the financial challenges the authority faces.

He says the latest indication of the settlement from the Welsh Government would mean the council having to find more than £120m in savings over the next three years.

This was why the council recently launched a three-year Programme of Organisational Change to make the authority more open and develop different models for delivering services, he says.

“We face these challenges and see them as an opportunity. We must try not to retreat to the salami-slicing of budgets but to try to get that balance. It’s still looking very difficult but at least it’s giving ourselves more time to plan.”

The Llanishen councillor says he has spent a lot of his time during the last 100 days meeting city staff and organisations and says he wants to meet as many of the staff as possible and take on their ideas.

He adds: “We’re working on a clearer vision about what we stand for, what it means to work for the organisation, what we want to achieve and how we go about achieving it.”

He says he has also been meeting residents through the recently-launched Cardiff Debate – workshops and events for people’s views on how services can continue in the future.

Coun Bale says: “The start of the Cardiff Debate has been really great. One of the things that has come out is that people really want a meaningful debate about how the council is shaped in the future.”

He added: “One of the important things I have tried to do since becoming leader is talking to people about the changes that affect them. It’s important that when things happen in the city that people know about them. We need to be a bit more open. It’s good for the organisation to have that challenge and that scrutiny.”